Cuddly Cubs
by WookieCookie
Summary: Kaname is a brilliant and beautiful orange tiger just sleeping lazily on a tree branch when suddenly he hears a loud noise that disturbs his beauty sleep! How dare right? Kaname is an actual tiger and Zero is a six/seven year old human. OOC Un-betaed
1. Human Cubs Are Cuddly

_Humans are so strange._

Kaname had decided a _long_ while ago that this was the case. Kaname was a brilliant, strong and beautiful tiger. Sometimes, whenever a human would pass by, he'd follow them when he had nothing to do. Of course, he'd never _show _himself to them unless necessary. He learned that humans were really picky about food and that they hated sleeping on the ground.

_Humans are also enemies._

The orange tiger also knew that humans loved to capture tigers and use them as…_entertainment_ of some sort. He shook his head and let out a huff of anger at the thought. They were not slaves or pets! Humans would also sometimes skin the tigers. The first time Kaname had seen tiger skin hanging off of lines and the rest of the tiger left to rot on the floor, he had lost control of his anger and attacked the humans. No one was left alive.

So, Kaname would often tell other tigers –when they crossed paths- to stay away from humans at all costs.

_Humans aren't easily discouraged_.

But even so, the humans had still managed to kill more tigers and find all their hiding places. The human population was growing fast and more hunters were coming. Kaname had injured countless humans to scare them, but none of that worked. He had even killed a few, but they still weren't discouraged.

They didn't know how to give up.

Kaname huffed and found a great tree that looked comfortable to sleep in, so he climbed up using his strong claws to the second lowest branch. He put his paw underneath his chin and if he were human, he might have let out a long dragged out sigh of satisfaction. The weather currently was nice, warm and slightly breezy –though the tiger could tell that it would soon be wet and very stormy. He could smell it in the air. So, he would enjoy every moment of the beautiful weather as much as possible.

His ears and tail twitched to every small sound that they picked up. The trees rustling, ants scurrying about, fish swimming through the stream and the birds that were currently gathering around him. Kaname made no move to scatter them off though –as he was in a good mood today and the birds weren't doing any harm.

Suddenly a loud thump, leaves rustling, branches crackling and a yelp was heard. Kaname lazily opened one eye to see what was making the racket only to see a red cloth that had a slight hump shape. Curiously, the tiger hopped down from the branch –landing on all four paws- and cautiously went over to the object. The cloth moved slightly, making Kaname halt and circle 'it' instead of heading directly towards it. The 'red thing' moved a little more before stopping for a few seconds, making Kaname wonder if this was a rabbit or some other small animal not knowing how to get out of something made by a human.

The tiger swatted at the cloth lightly and almost immediately the 'thing' jolted up, almost making Kaname jump back in surprise. He growled loudly at it in irritation for surprising him and even more so when he saw what 'it' was.

It was a human: a human with the most brilliant round lilac eyes, pale skin and hair as white as the snow. Kaname didn't care if the human was just a cub –he looked around six or seven years old at least. The boy had the scent of gunpowder on him; a familiar smell to Kaname and the tiger knew it didn't mean any good.

The boy shrunk back when he saw the tiger's angry eyes and how his lips were pulled back showing some of his fangs. The tiger looked _huge_from where he was sitting and the fact that the beast was growling didn't help. The boy's eyes darted around trying to search for a branch or a large enough rock to hit the tiger with; he wouldn't just stand there and cry right? His father told him that crying wasn't manly!

But…the boy started crying anyways. Obviously, this threw Kaname off –and he had absolutely no idea what to do. So, the tiger went over –making the boy think that the tiger was going to _eat_him, so he wailed louder- and nuzzled against the boy, trying to make him stop crying.

The boy giggled a few moments later, much to Kaname's relief –he didn't know _what_he'd do if the boy continued, he swore that his ears got a beating from the high pitched crying. Soon the huge tiger found himself being "glomped" by the boy and the two fell over onto the grass, making the boy giggle and laugh.

"My name is Zero! I'm gunna call you Kia!" The boy smiled at the tiger and scratched the tiger underneath the chin, earning him a satisfying purr making the boy's smile wider.

Kaname frowned at the name, but he would deal with it. He wanted to sleep now; maybe he'd correct the human called "Zero" later.

_Humans are cuddly, well their cubs are anyways. _

**xox**

Written by Cookie  
>Now, this is not supposed to be realistic –fanFICTION people-, so if you're a tiger fanatic then please don't yell at me for this. Also not meant to be a chapter fic, but if enough people like this, then I might.<br>Sorry for the OOCness, please don't hit me DX


	2. Human Cubs Get Hungry

A few hours later, Kaname found himself being shaken awake. This was strange since Kaname never traveled with any other tiger. And tigers are solitary creatures; so the only time a tiger is seen with another is if it's the mother and her cubs. So he figured that he was just imagining it, and the sun felt so good against his fur that he started dozing off again. That is until something screamed into his ear.

"KIA WAKE UP!"

And Kaname jolted up, quickly backing away a few paces before he started remembering what happened before he fell asleep. He had spotted a red lump of cloth, approached it, and there he found a human, a human who was apparently called Zero. And this human wanted to call him Kia. It was most certainly not his name, and Kaname wanted to correct the human, but he had no way of trying to get Zero to understand him.

So, he had to deal with the nickname, "Kia" until he could figure out how to tell Zero that his name is actually, "Kaname."

He felt a slight tug on his fur and turned his head to see two big lilac eyes staring at him, "Kia, I'm really hungry."

Kaname huffed affectionately and gently nudged the boy to go into the direction for food. The tiger couldn't smell any meat for miles, and he wasn't sure if the boy could last for miles. But he had seen humans eat berries before, so maybe Zero would like those.

Zero silently followed the tiger. He could only think about food right now and wasn't in the mood to try to strike a one-sided conversation. The pale boy, who was getting paler every second, hadn't had a meal since the morning and now it was late in the afternoon. The six year old was clearly starving.

They walked over huge tree roots, hopped over small streams, and climbed up boulders. Dead leaves crunched underneath their bare feet, and once in a while a strong gust of wind would pass by. Other than the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds, the area was completely silent. Zero had not seen any other animals either and the area around him all looked the same after a while. He guessed that this was what his father meant when he said that Zero needed to study more.

After a few minutes, when the boy was just on the verge of fainting from the lack of food in his belly, the tiger suddenly stopped making Zero bump into one of Kaname's hind legs.

"Oof!" Zero exclaimed as he fell on his bottom. He looked up to see what was the matter and smiled brightly at the sight. "Wow! Kia! That's a lot of berries!"

Kaname wanted to smile at how excited Zero looked to see all the berries. He was very proud that he was successful in finding Zero a food source. But then he frowned and tried to push Zero away from a certain berry plant that the human was trying to get berries from.

"Ah! Kia," Zero whined, "I'm hungry! Why won't you let me eat it?"

Kaname shook his head at the boy, wondering how to explain to him that the berry was poisonous. Then, by chance of luck, Kaname spotted a book in the pocket of Zero's shorts that had the picture of a berry on it. The tiger nudged his nose at the pocket, making the white haired boy giggle.

"Kia that tickles!" Zero laughed, when he realized that the book his teacher gave him to study was still in his pocket.

Zero got the book out and started flipping through the pages, wondering why the tiger seemed to want him to look at it. Now Kaname couldn't read, but he could tell that it was about berries. So perhaps it would have the names of the poisonous ones in there. Kaname is very logical and smart, no?

Zero suddenly pulled away from the book, "Yack! The berry I was going to eat was English Ivy! Kia you're smart! Even I don't know my berries yet…but there are so many berries here; how will I know which ones I can eat? It'll take forever to try to figure out which ones are safe…"

Kaname jerked his head, signaling Zero to follow him and headed over to the berry plant that was basking in a big patch of sunlight. The berries were a deep red and black color and a familiar plant to Zero. He used to sneak these berries out and eat them as snacks before dinner or breakfast!

"Raspberries!" He shouted happily, before eating a few. He got his red cloth and dumped a bunch of raspberries in it so he could eat them later. They tasted delicious!

"Kia, would you like some?"

Kaname shook his head. He could eat berries, but he already had a large meal before he met Zero, so he wasn't hungry anymore. The tiger then chose a spot to lie on his belly, watching as the child pick the berries. Kaname's eyes scanned the area and his ears twitched to detect anything threatening, but he couldn't see anything suspicious. So, he resumed watching over the child until he picked his last. When Zero was finished, the boy took a seat right up next to Kaname and leaned against him while feasting on the fresh raspberries.

**xox**

**Meanwhile, back at civilization-  
><strong>  
>"Ah, there you are Yuki, so how's Zero doing with his studies?"<p>

The strong yet gentle voice of the leader of the hunters spoke; in other words, Zero's father. The two resembled each other so strongly and Zero's father looked so young that the two were often mistaken for siblings.

Yuki fiddled with her dress nervously. Zero's father, although a kind and gentle soul, was said to have the anger of a bull when it saw red. She didn't want to anger him in any way and chose her words carefully.

"W-well sir, I sent him to the backyard to study some of the berries in the area, but when I came back he was gone. We can't seem to find him so he must have ventured into the forest." Yuki explained nervously, waiting for the man's reaction.

Zero's father stood, clearly doubting the words that came out of the girl's mouth, "What do you mean?"

"Z-Zero is gone sir."

And at those words all of Zero's father's world shattered.

**xox**

**Written by Cookie**

**Yes, I did research on some of the things I put in here –such as the berries and how tigers are solitary creatures (which means they travel and live alone). I also read that tigers do eat berries and other vegetation, but of course they mostly eat meat.**

**Anyways, if you don't read my Prompto x Noctis fics I'll explain here:**

**Wookie and Cookie are two different people. Please pay attention to how we sign our fics. This is a shared account. People seem to think we're the same person but we aren't.**

**Please review~ Did you like this fic? If not explain why and I will try to change. Any ideas for Zero's dad's name –or if he has an official one, please tell me right away. Would you guys like another chapter?**


	3. Human Cubs and Their Worried Parents

Zero's father didn't know what to do when Yuki had said that his own son had gone missing. Zero wasn't his only son; he had another named Ichiru. They were identical twins but they weren't always together. Because Ichiru was always sick he stayed with his mother back at home while Zero was dragged around the world with his father.

"**WHY WEREN'T YOU WATCHING HIM**!" Yoshito –Zero's father- roared at Yuki when he found his voice.

"I-I'm v-very sorry sir! Someone called me and-"

The man, who was quickly running out of patience, interrupted her, "YOU COULD HAVE BROUGHT HIM WITH YOU! You know how much he likes to wander off!"

"I'm very sorry sir."

Yuki looked down at her feet in shame. She _did _know how much Zero loved to wander about without telling anyone. The brunette regretted leaving the young boy by himself just so she could talk to one of the most handsome males in the building.

"I'll get a search team right away and-"

"_You do that_." Yoshito spat out, forcing himself to stay calm. "Get out and get the search team ready in ten minutes you hear?"

Yuki stared at the man incredulously, "Ten minutes isn't enough time sir!"

"A six year old is wandering in a forest and may be _dead_; but you're telling me that ten minutes isn't enough time?" Yoshito lowered his voice and glared at the now shivering girl, almost feeling sorry that she had to be the victim of his anger.

_Almost._

"I didn't mean that sir I only meant that-"

"Five minutes."

Yuki gave up in persuading him for more time and bit back a sigh, "Yes of course sir."

Yoshito groaned out loud and covered his face with his hands when Yuki had gotten out of earshot, "Oh, what am I going to say to his mother?"

His anger had dropped a tiny bit –_thankfully-_ but he was _this_close to getting a seizure or a heart attack. If Zero had gone into the forest who knows what happened to him! What if a tiger or a bear got to him by now? Or maybe he got swept away in a raging river? Yoshito decided that he wouldn't tell his wife until the right moment. If he told her now she'd probably kill him painfully and slowly.

"Zero, where did you _go_?"

Yoshito sighed heavily and thumped his forehead against the wall; beads of sweat rolling down his face. He closed his eyes trying to get his heart to calm down and ran down the halls, telling the first person he saw to call the elite hunters to the east end of the forest. Zero's father grabbed his gun and quickly started up his jeep before speeding off like a bolt of lightning. A search party may not be fast enough to find his precious son. He had to take precautions.

_Zero…_

He would tear the entire forest down if he had to.

**xox**

"Faster Kia! Faster!" Zero giggled, blissfully ignorant of what was going on at the hunter headquarters.

Kaname huffed affirmatively in reply and picked up his speed. The human cub was currently riding on his back, claiming that he was too tired to walk. The tiger wasn't complaining, after all Zero's weight seemed next to nothing to the strong tiger. Anyways, hearing the boy giggling and having fun made the tiger feel happy –he couldn't explain why. It had only been a day since they both met and Zero already won Kaname's heart.

_Perhaps it was because Zero was just so adorable._

Kaname ran towards a cliff at full speed, making Zero confused and worried that they would collide right into the huge wall of rock.

"Kia there's a cliff!" He shouted worriedly, wondering if the tiger had problems with his vision.

Once they were about five feet –or less- away from the cliff, Kaname got up onto his hind legs and leapt for one of the huge boulders that were sticking out. Zero squealed in delight and tightened his grip on Kaname's fur. The tiger looked around for another surface that seemed stable and jumped again, repeating the process over until they reached the top.

Once they did reach the top, the boy was a laughing mess, "Kia can we do it again?" He asked excitedly.

Kaname shook his head in amusement and nuzzled his head against Zero's hand: _maybe. _The boy smiled, possibly understanding Kaname's action and thought of how fun it would be if the cliff were just a bit higher.

Zero, still on Kaname's back, pressed his thighs against the tiger's sides while untying the red cloth he used to hold the raspberries. He still had a bunch left –enough to last him two more meals. The boy's body swayed from side to side as Kaname walked at a pleasant pace through the forest, looking for a safe place to rest. As they walked, Zero decided to tell Kaname all his adventures he had before they met.

"This one time," Zero spoke has he chewed on the dark red berries in his hand –why not? His father wasn't there to scold him for talking with his mouth full, "I put spiders on Yuki's bed and she didn't like them! I wonder why…she said she loved animals."

Kaname wanted to chuckle at the innocence of the boy. The orange tiger shook his head, signaling Zero to continue with his stories.

The white haired boy smiled, happy that his new animal friend was listening, "The next day the spiders were gone! I found them in the backyard and thought that maybe the spiders escaped. So I put them in Yuki's lunchbox and she screamed so loud! She must have been really happy right Kia?"

If Kaname were human he would have probably been rolling on the floor laughing, but since he wasn't one, he huffed a few times and nodded.

"Do you want to hear my next story Kia?" Zero asked hopefully.

Kaname nodded again and Zero began talking happily about the time he tamed a pony that no one else could. He said that her name was Lily and that the pony told him so. This was unbelievable, but Kaname seemed like he believed him, which made Zero very happy. He proclaimed that everyone continuously told him that talking to animals was impossible! So he was glad that _someone _believed him for once.

Then he told Kaname about the times he successfully snuck out of his room when he wasn't supposed to. After that he told the tiger about his little brother, how they were twins, and how smart the both of them were! They both had scores that made fifth graders cry! At least, that was what his father said: and his father was _always_ right.

"I miss them…" Zero mumbled before happily yapping out his favorite dinners and holidays, which happened to be bacon and Christmas.

The tiger smiled faintly, nodding at the times he should –though he couldn't give his full focus on Zero. He still had to find a safe place for Zero to sleep and make sure there weren't any other tigers in the area.

This was going to be a long trip.

**xox**

**Written by Cookie**

**Thank you for all of your reviews. They make me so happy and excited! In fact they make me want to write more, so keep them coming okay?**


	4. Attack and Defense

It was about 4 in the morning when Kaname left Zero at the cave he had found the previous day. Of course, he wasn't _abandoning_ the child there –who would do such a thing! The tiger was just going out to hunt for the human boy. He would hunt for himself later; he didn't stray too far from where he left Zero. Kaname made sure that he was close enough to hear and smell Zero, or the creatures that went _too _close to the human. But he was also at a distance that the child wouldn't be able to see him, which was another reason why the tiger thought he shouldn't stray too far. He didn't want Zero to panic if he suddenly woke up. However, he wasn't exactly worried about that, considering he remembered that normally humans woke up when it was daylight.

A flash of white darted across the field that Kaname was in before slowing down and eventually stopping. The small rabbit stood on its hind legs, raising its head and ears; sniffing the air for any danger. The wind wasn't blowing Kaname's scent towards the poor animal however, so the tiger remained unnoticed by his prey. Kaname lowered himself into the grass and silently stalked over. You could tell that he was a professional at this; he didn't make a sound. He waited patiently for a moment or two…and then…

He pounced, just missing the rabbit by a few inches! Quickly, after sliding a few feet, he sharply turned and chased the rabbit across the field. He caught up within a matter of seconds, catching the rabbit in the back with his sharp claws. The rabbit struggled as Kaname pushed down harder; only stopping its movement completely when the predator bit it on the neck –but it wasn't hard enough that he would behead the creature.

Kaname breathed heavily, trying to slow his heartbeat down after the brief hunt he had. He was proud of himself and hoped that the boy would enjoy the feast in the morning. The orange Siberian tiger knew that there were still raspberries left, but he also knew that meat was much more desirable to humans –as it was to him. It was also a lot more filling.

After a few more moments of waiting for his pounding heart to slow, he picked up the rabbit and turned in the direction of "Zero's cave". He walked at a nonchalant, casual pace, enjoying the cool _very_ _early _morning breeze. The birds and most creatures weren't quite up yet, so everything was still silent. The warm sun had not risen; but Kaname could see everything perfectly to the tiniest detail. He only quickened his pace when he smelled two animals approaching the cave he left Zero at.

**xox**

Zero woke up with a startle. Everything around him was dark and the fire that he had miraculously got running the previous night had died out, leaving only the ashes. He couldn't see anything, but he could make out the shadows and the eyes of a big tiger; it was two big tigers actually. Zero panicked, he knew it wasn't "his" Kia. It couldn't have been! These tigers looked angry and their eyes –although he couldn't see them as clearly- didn't look as brilliant or gentle as "Kia's". They didn't smell like him either, or have that same protective aura.

The young hunter yelped as the smaller of the two beasts pushed against him. He scrambled to his feet grabbing the still hot ash from the fire with his bare hand. Hissing, he quickly threw the ash at the tigers, hoping that it would stall them, before darting out of the cave. He ran as fast as he could, too afraid to look back.

_Wait, didn't daddy say not to run away from tigers otherwise they'd think of you as prey? _

Zero panicked and mentally scolded himself for not remembering that _important_ information sooner. He knew that climbing the tall trees wouldn't work; cats were strong climbers. The silver haired male could _hear_ their breath now and he was on the verge of crying. No wait, he was _already _crying. His heart beat so fast that he thought it would explode inside his chest.

"Ah!" He whimpered loudly as he felt one of the tiger's claws brush against the back of his shirt and struggled to run _faster._

His feet got tangled up and he tripped over a large tree root, falling into a mosquito-infested puddle. Of course, he didn't pay attention to or even hear the buzzing around him as every limb in his body froze; refusing to budge an inch as he watched the large tiger leap and open its jaws.

Zero shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the pain of fangs sinking into his skin, but it never came. So after a few unsure moments –wondering if death by an animal was this _painless_- he forced himself to open his eyes.

"Kia!"

Sure enough, Kaname was there, standing on his hind legs, roaring at the two attackers who dared an attempt to kill the human "cub". The tigers went down to the ground, their ears flattening down on their head the same time that their tails went in between their legs. Kaname snarled at them angrily and for each intimidating step the tiger took, the other two tigers stepped back.

Then, Kaname noticed something.

"_Aido and Kain?"_

**xox**

Meanwhile, on the eastern side of the forest, a jeep that had one door recklessly open sped towards a medium-sized wooden cabin. Kiryuu Yoshito jumped out of the jeep, not even bothering to turn the vehicle off and ran to the cabin's door. He pounded on the door as hard as he could. The reason why he had chosen the eastern side of the forest to meet his elite hunters at was because his most trusted friend lived here. They had known each other since second grade -though their relationship started off a little bumpy.

"YAGARI! WAKE UP!"

Toga Yagari, one of the most powerful hunters next to Kiryuu Yoshito.

**xox**

**This is a bit shorter than my usual chapter, but I made it more descriptive to make up for it. What do you guys think of this chapter? Is it going too fast? Too slow? Just right? Or is it just plain horrible?**

Reviews? Ideas for the next chapter are welcome.

Written by Cookie


	5. Pest Problems

**I don't usually write Author's notes up here anymore. Haha. But it seems like everyone is worrying about Kaname getting hurt. I don't want to spoil the story so let's just say that he will never be close to death.**

**Thank you everyone for your reviews! I love them so much! I always get excited when I see them. And thank you_ readers_ who choose not to review~ (It's fine with me, I don't post reviews much either.)**

**Did you know that a tiger's roar could be heard from five miles away and that they may use it to paralyze their prey? They can use it for defense too! Cool right?**

**xox**

Toga Yagari groaned, wondering what the hell Yoshito wanted at…He looked at the digital alarm clock on his bedside table that had red numbers blinking off and on. He needed a replacement soon but he assumed that the time _should _be right and it was around four in the morning.

Yagari forced himself to swing his feet out of the bed and drag his feet to the door. It sure as hell felt like four in the morning. He opened the door and glared at the slightly shorter male hunter.

"Yoshito. What the hell are you doing here at FOUR AM? If you need to release sexual tension then, god, do it yourself!" Yagari mumbled, not really knowing what he was saying because he was so damn tired.

Yoshito Kiryuu raised an eyebrow at the hunter who was clearly not all there; he must have been _really _tired. It would probably make good blackmail, but this wasn't the time!

"Yagari, it's Zero! He's gone missing; so you better wake up!"

The eye-patched hunter looked at Yoshito with wide eyes. He was now totally awake and shocked. How could this happen?

"Yuki left him in the garden." Oh had he said that out loud? "Now hurry! Put on some clothes and let's find him!" Yoshito urged Yagari to hurry and pushed him back inside the house. He'd rather not travel with a man that was only in his underwear thank you very much.

Yagari hurriedly got his clothes off of the chair that was at his desk and mumbled a, "thank you" when Yoshito brought him his socks, boots, and gun.

"Zero's only a child so he shouldn't have gotten _that_ far into the forest right?" Yagari asked, wondering why Yoshito would have to come all the way over here. It wasn't like Zero took a car, and even if he did the boy would probably crash before he got to his destination.

Yoshito shook his head; "Yuki left him there because someone called her. Who knows how long he was left alone?"

Zero was actually left there for an hour, but Yoshito didn't know that. Yuki decided to leave that small piece of information out for her own good. She didn't want to die yet; she was still young.

"Did you get a search team already?"

"Yeah," Yoshito said as he made his way to the drivers side, "And the elite."

"…Is it that bad?"

"It's my son of course it's that bad!"

"Calm down. I'll drive; sit in the passengers side." Yagari said, pushing Yoshito gently out of the way.

"B-"

"No buts. You're tired and I don't trust you with the wheel. I don't want to die before we even start looking for the kid."

And Yoshito reluctantly gave Yagari the keys. _His driving is worse than mine when I'm tired but I can't tell him that now…_

**xox**

Kaname went back down on all four paws, surprised to see the two cousins Aido and Kain in this part of the forest. Kaname had known the two tigers since childhood and they had often played with each other. Once they grew older, they became much more independent and went their own ways; making their own territories. They only saw each other once in a blue moon.

But even though they were close friends then, it didn't mean that he wouldn't ask them why they attacked the poor defenseless child –who was most definitely asleep at the time. Zero couldn't have done anything to provoke them.

"_What do you think you're doing?"_ Kaname growled softly, anger just _barely _being held down his throat.

"_But Kaname-sama! He has the scent of gunpowder on him! He's one of those damned hunters!" _Aido exclaimed, slowly starting to rise from his bowed position.

"_And we smelled your scent so we assumed…"_Kain added in softly before also rising.

Aido nodded a few times.

"_It's the truth."_

Kaname sighed, deducting that they were indeed telling the truth. It was his fault; he should have taken care of the smell on Zero sooner. "_It's alright. But this child presents no danger to us; so treat him well."_

The two nodded, knowing that it was foolish to not follow Kaname's wishes.

"_Yes, Kaname-sa-"_

"Kia," Zero whined, interrupting the two tigers.

Kain and Aido raised an eyebrow in question, wondering why the human was calling Kaname, "Kia". They didn't dare question it though when Kaname shot them a warning look telling them to not say a thing about the nickname.

The tiger then turned to Zero who had already finished lifting himself out of the puddle, mosquitoes swarming in ever direction. The boy was slapping irritably at the mosquitoes that landed on his skin and clothes, scratching once in a while at the bites. His skin was already turning a slight red.

"Kia it really, really itches!" He whined again.

Kaname glared at the mosquitoes bothering Zero and blew some of them away with his breath, but they kept on coming back, eventually starting to bite him as well. He sighed, realizing that it was no use trying to get rid of them this way. He gently bit the back of Zero's shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"_Aido can you get the rabbit please?" _

_"Of course Kaname-sama!_" Aido smiled, happy that he could do something useful for his friend while they were together.

As Aido gathered the dead rabbit into his mouth, Kain was already walking a few steps behind Kaname; he chuckled at his cousin's mumbling in the background about not waiting for him and a bunch of other things that he had chosen to ignore.

"_Kaname-sama_, _may I ask where we're going?_" Kain asked.

"_To the lake just up ahead."_

Aido's ears perked up at the word "lake". Kain noticed and smiled slightly. Aido really loved water and would literally jump at it once he saw one. It wasn't that there were almost no lakes in the area –on the contrary there were a ton-; Aido just loved swimming and water.

"_To get rid of the pesky mosquitoes?" _

Kaname nodded and carefully climbed down a bunch of boulders leading to an almost dry stream, "_And to get rid of the gunpowder scent."_

Killing two birds with one stone was so much like Kaname; the two tigers behind him thought.

**"**Kia," Zero whined again as he scratched harder on the mosquito bites, drawing a little bit of blood, "It's _**really **_itchy and sore now! And the mosquitoes won't stop buzzing in my ears!"

Kaname breathed comfortingly down Zero's neck, trying to tell him that they were very close. Aido started walking slightly faster as the smell of a huge body of water drew closer and closer. He could almost hear the schools of fish swimming in the lake!

As they drew nearer, Aido couldn't take it anymore and ran ahead of them, the sight of the lake itself too much for him. He got there in a matter of minutes and carelessly threw the rabbit down before splashing in the cool water.

Meanwhile, Kaname put Zero down and motioned the human boy to sit on his back and hold on tight. Zero did just that, both him and Kain wondering what the tiger was up to. Then, Kaname dashed off nearly running as fast as a cheetah.

**xox**

**Okay, I don't know how fast Tiger's can run. Let's just pretend that Kaname is this awesome tiger that can run that fast okay? Okay.**

**I hope everyone is enjoying this, and it really does seem like it so far! I'm happy~**

**Please review! I update depending on the number of reviews since the last story just so you know.**

**Written by Cookie**


	6. Names

Once they reached the lake, they spotted Aido splashing and diving in the water; where he was throwing leaves and other debris around as if they were toys. Kain chuckled once more at his cousin before following Kaname, who was heading into the water with Zero still on his back.

The water was cold, and Zero nearly froze in place when the water reached his stomach. Aido approached the child carefully and nudged him, wondering why the child still didn't look happy.

"M-M-Mister Tiger aren't you c-cold?" Zero's teeth chattered.

Aido shook his head and splashed a bunch of water onto Zero; most of the mosquitoes were dead in the water by then –thankfully-. Zero squeaked and fell off of Kaname's back: into the water.

"_Whoops_." Aido stared at the bubbles where Zero fell in and watched as Kaname quickly ducked his head underwater, grabbing the young child by his shirt.

Zero opened his mouth wide and gasped for air and rubbed his face, trying to get all the water out of his face. He coughed a little, but other than that, he seemed fine to the three tigers.

"Kia I'm fine! I want to go play in the water now. I don't feel that cold anymore!" Zero exclaimed smiling cheerfully at Kaname.

Kaname huffed affectionately and gently put Zero back down into the water. The little boy claimed that he saw fishes over there and pointed to where he was going; like a child telling their parent where they would be playing: just in case they needed them.

"_Aido be careful next time._" Kaname said with a warning undertone.

_"Of course Kaname-sama. I'm sorry._"

The three looked up when Zero came splashing back. They all thought that he was running to Kaname, but he ran up to Aido instead, which surprised them all.

"Mr. Tiger!" Zero said loudly, "Play with me! You like water right?" He smiled.

Aido looked at Zero in a moment of surprise before turning to Kaname for permission, "_May I Kaname-sama?_"

_"Go ahead. Just watch him carefully and don't play too roughly with him."_

_"Yes Kaname-sama!" _And Aido ran ahead of Zero.

Zero giggled and ran as fast as he could to catch up with the other tiger. He seemed to have forgotten that this was the tiger that attacked him earlier. The young boy dove under water again, smiling and waving at all the colorful fish that he saw. He swam through schools of fish all the way to the playful tiger before going to the surface of the water.

Gently, he placed his chubby, small hands onto the tiger's wet fur and grinned up at him, "Hey Mr. Tiger!"

Aido looked curiously down at him before he jerked back. Zero had thrown seaweed at him! It was resting on his head like a wig now.

Kain chuckled, "_You look like a girl._"

"_Shut up Kain."_

"_Ah-ah-ah, no language in front of the child. But seriously, look in the water. You do look like a girl._"

Aido glanced at the water, hoping that he would be able to prove his cousin wrong. "_Ah! What the heck! How did the flowers get there!" _

Zero giggled as he put more daisies onto Aido's head, "Mr. Tiger looks pretty now!" He smiled.

Aido growled at the child. How dare he treat him like a girl!

Zero shrunk underneath Aido's glare and darted behind Kaname's right front leg, "Kia, Mr. Tiger looks angry. Did I do something wrong?"

Kaname glared at the other tiger after reassuring Zero, "_Aido he's a child._"

_"S-sorry Kaname-sama." _

"Kia?" The lilac colored eyed boy clung to Kaname's fur as he shivered, "I'm cold."

The large tiger smiled at the little child and gently nudged him to shore. Time to get warm.

**xox**

Zero slept soundly on Kaname's back as they walked. Kain was walking silently on the side that Zero's face was turned to and Aido was ranting on the other side.

"_Do children need to name everything? Alex? Why is my name Alex?"_

Kain rolled his eyes, "_He can't call us Mr. Tiger number 1, Mr. Tiger number 2, and Mr. Tiger number 3. Be grateful that your name is 'Alex'. My name is Kika." _

Aido glared at his cousin before softening his gaze and turned to Kaname, "_Kaname-sama, how long are you going to keep the child? He lives with hunters; we should return the child before they find him with us."_

Kain nodded, _"Yes, they'll think that we brought harm to him if we don't give him back. You don't want a war with the hunters do you?"_

Kaname sighed; he knew he couldn't keep Zero with him forever. "_We can't exactly let him wander around in the forest alone either." _

"_He probably wouldn't even get the hint either. He's so attached to you he'd probably think you're saying something else." _Aido piped in.

_"We can't get too near humans either though._" Kain sighed before halting.

_"Kain? What's wrong?"_Kaname asked.

"_There's a circus around here that feeds us sometimes right Aido?_"

"_Ah!" _

**xox**

**I need ideas…-goes to Wookie for ideas- lol…**

Written by Cookie


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